Aston Villa will have to juggle the Champions League with domestic football for the first time this season. Here, we look at the key issues for Unai Emery ahead of a huge campaign.
Aston Villa were the surprise package of 2023-24, not just for cracking the so-called ‘big six’ but for going on to book a place in the UEFA Champions League. They are now preparing to make their first appearance in Europe’s top club competition for 41 years while also hoping to maintain their top-four status in the Premier League.
With a team built on solid foundations and Unai Emery at the helm, they will be dreaming big once more. Ahead of the new season, we take a look at five key questions for the club.
Can Emery Produce His Golden Touch in Europe?
Emery is known for his exceptional record in Europe, particularly in the Europa League where he has cemented himself as the most successful manager in the competition with a record four titles.
An exceptional run of three successive wins in the competition with Sevilla between 2014 and 2016 rocketed him up the standings before he led Villarreal to their first-ever European final and trophy in 2020-21.
He almost worked that same magic at Arsenal too, leading them to the final in 2019, only to fall short at the final hurdle against Premier League rivals Chelsea.
Emery has proven his managerial prowess once more with Aston Villa, transforming the club in his 15 months in charge. He took over from Steven Gerrard when they were sat in 16th in the Premier League, but in just over half a season, the Spaniard flipped the script, ensuring a top-half finish after staving off relegation.
They then went from strength to strength last season, finishing fourth in the top flight to book a place in the Champions League, meaning this season they will be playing in UEFA’s premier club competition for the first time since the 1982-83 season.
Emery’s success in the Champions League may not have reached the heights of that in the second tier of Europe, but he is no stranger to the competition having managed 53 games with a win percentage of 41.5% (won 22), overseeing 108 goals with five different teams in that time while conceding 76.
While his best win record with a single club in the competition came with Paris Saint-Germain (56.3%), he failed to make it past the round of 16 in his two years there. But he soon eclipsed that result by taking Villarreal on an impressive run to the semi-finals in 2021-22, beating Bayern Munich along the way before eventually going out to Liverpool in the last four.
After a stellar run to the Europa Conference League semi-final last season, some Villa fans will be dreaming of a good showing in the Champions League, and who could blame them? Villa proved last season they can perform against top teams, doing the double over Arsenal in the Premier League as well as earning a memorable and deserved home victory over eventual champions Manchester City.
One thing is for sure, Emery’s Villa will provide entertainment. In his 83 games in charge, they have scored 151 goals, having found a way to get the best out of Ollie Watkins’ skills up front in particular. But it’s not just the England international. Leon Bailey adds a different option with his pace and creativity on the wing, while John McGinn never shies away from his attacking duties.
At the time of writing, Villa have made eight new signings in a bid to improve their squad depth ahead of a campaign that will see them competing on four fronts once again. Emery will be particularly keen to get new arrivals Samuel Iling-Junior and Jaden Philogene quickly integrated into the forward line as support for Watkins so they can attack their European campaign.
How Useful Can Martínez’s Experience Be?
Every team needs a ‘big game’ player in their squad. And there is no one more adept at playing that role than goalkeeper Emiliano Martínez, who could prove pivotal when they get their Champions League campaign under way.
While he does not necessarily have much experience on Europe’s biggest stage – he only ever made two appearances in the competition during his days at Arsenal – he is no stranger to a showpiece occasion, having recently added another Copa America title to his collection after his World Cup heroics for Argentina in 2022.
“Of course, he’s one of the best goalkeepers in the world. The first, the second, the third? For me, the best,” Emery said in April after Martinez’s success in the Europa Conference League quarter-final penalty shootout against Lille. And his confidence in his goalkeeper is understandable.
Since making his Villa debut in September 2020, Martinez has missed just eight of 152 Premier League games, and they looked considerably less comfortable when they did not have him between the sticks. They lost six of those eight matches, conceding an average of 2.5 goals compared to just 1.3 when the Argentine was playing.
While shot-stopping has never really been a concern when it comes to Martinez, he still upped his game last season, preventing 8.4 Premier League goals according to Opta’s expected goals on target (xGOT) model, more than doubling his previous best performance in a Villa shirt (4.0 in 2020-21).
He is also one of the more reliable goalkeepers when it comes to using his feet – his passing accuracy of 81.4% was the sixth best among Premier League goalkeepers, and he made the third-most successful passes (1,035), behind only Guglielmo Vicario (1,148) and Bernd Leno (1,086).
While his return to the starting line-up for their final pre-season game against Borussia Dortmund (a 2-0 defeat) did not immediately steady the ship after some disappointing pre-season results for Villa, Martinez will surely again be key for Emery ahead of a busy campaign.
Will Villa Be Too Reliant on Watkins?
If there is one player who has benefitted most from Emery’s arrival at Villa Park, it is Watkins.
It’s safe to say he made a lightning-quick start to his Villa career, netting his first top-flight goals in a perfect hat-trick during a 7-2 thrashing of Liverpool in 2020-21, and he continued to make strides under Dean Smith, proving a reliable presence in the final third. When Steven Gerrard stepped into the managerial hot seat, however, it was not the same story.
Emery’s appointment ensured all of that was quickly put behind him though as Watkins emerged as the main man under the Spaniard.
“He’s a really hard worker and his commitment to work every day is amazing,” Emery said at the end of last season. “When he is scoring goals, it’s the main objective he can have. Where he is assisting as well, he’s contributing to help the team. But even when he’s not doing both, he’s working for the team.”
Watkins has scored 32 league goals since Emery’s appointment, with only Erling Haaland (39) netting more in that time. He also overperformed his expected goals for the first time in a Villa shirt last season, netting 19 league goals from 16.9 xG, which made up 25% of Villa’s total in the top flight. He also wrote himself into Villa history with that tally, equalling Christian Benteke with the most goals in a single Premier League season for the club. He also works hard to link play, with his 13 assists earning him the Premier League Playmaker of the Season award for most assists.
In a standout season, the 28-year-old played the most Premier League minutes of anyone in the squad (3,221) in 2023-24, and was involved in the most shot-ending attacking sequences in open play (158). Still, there is a case to be made that Villa could become overly reliant on their striker, especially without a proven backup if he were to suffer an injury.
Since making his debut in September 2020, Watkins has only missed six games out of a possible 152 in the Premier League, with Villa losing half of those he was not available for. With him, they average 1.5 goals per game compared to 1.3 without, albeit from a much smaller sample. Villa’s lack of firepower was particularly clear in pre-season, which Watkins missed due to a prolonged break after representing England at Euro 2024, as they failed to score in three of their seven matches.
Cameron Archer was given minutes ahead of their Premier League opener against West Ham, as was Morgan Rogers, who has shown promise when called upon, though it remains to be seen if he would be the potential replacement for Watkins if needed. There is still time in the transfer window to bolster their attacking line-up, but for now, the Villa manager could be facing some problems when it comes to squad rotation.
How Will They Fill the Hole Left By Luiz?
While Villa have seen a lot of new faces join the club so far this transfer window, it has not been without some big-name departures; in particular Douglas Luiz, who joined Juventus in June.
There has been a lot of concern from fans about how they will replace such a pivotal player in their set-up, and maybe for good reason with Moussa Diaby also leaving Villa behind to move to the Saudi Pro League.
Luiz ranked second for Villa for the number of open-play shot-ending attacking sequences he was involved in in Premier League games, with 144. He also scored nine goals and provided five assists – his best return since joining the club from Manchester City in 2019 as he pulled the strings from central midfield.
Meanwhile, Diaby was a key foil for Watkins in attack and was very influential, matching Luiz’s tally of 14 goals involvements in the league (six goals, eight assists).
And while not everything is centred around goal involvements, Luiz’s creative spark will be a big miss. So, how will Emery choose to fill the gap?
All of the signs point to Amadou Onana. As their marquee signing of the transfer window after securing a £50m move from Everton, he has slotted into that role in pre-season alongside Youri Tielemans. However, his talents lean more towards the defensive side of the game – he managed just three goals in his two years with the Toffees and created 40 chances in that time, fewer than Luiz registered last season alone (53), although a good chunk of those would have come from set-pieces.
Ross Barkley could help to plug the gap having profiled similarly to Luiz last season according to Opta’s Player Radars. The Englishman revitalised his career with a strong campaign at Luton Town and returns to Villa three years on from a successful loan spell from Chelsea.
As well as his attacking threat, Barkley’s work off the ball was particularly notable as he won possession 201 times, the ninth-best among midfielders in the Premier League, compared to the Brazilian’s 184, and he engaged in more duels (381 to 289).
There is also the issue of their new set-piece taker, a role Luiz regularly filled – and memorably so in some cases, scoring directly from a corner more than once. McGinn was often the backup taker, but whether he will be the long-term solution is yet to be determined.
It is likely to become clear if Villa are feeling the loss of Luiz after the first few games of the season, though for now, Emery has plenty of options to try out.
Can Villa Make Their Defence Sturdier?
For all of Villa’s impressive play in the final third, they have shown a certain fragility at the back, a trend that has crept into their pre-season matches.
They conceded 11 goals in their seven friendlies, albeit without some of their usual first-choice defenders due to international involvements, with many of those coming from individual errors that Emery will hope they have already stamped out before their opener against West Ham.
On the whole, Emery’s system does come with some risk. He encourages a high back line to set an offside trap while also aiding the forward players in their press. That sometimes generates the desired results at one end of the pitch, though it did, at times, leave them vulnerable at the other end.
Villa conceded 61 goals in the Premier League last season, their joint-fourth-worst tally in the competition. It was comfortably the worst goals-against record out of the teams in the top four, too, letting in almost double that of champions Manchester City (34) who were the closest to them.
Villa were also susceptible to a high turnover, losing possession at the top end of the pitch 329 times, with 56 of those ending in a shot against and eight seeing the ball hit the back of their net. Their average of 14 PPDA (passes per defensive action) was the eighth lowest in the league, meaning they took a less aggressive approach with their press compared to the teams around them in the table.
While the addition of Onana should go a long way to shoring up the defensive side in midfield, Villa are still relatively light in the centre-back position. They chose not to extend Clement Lenglet’s loan deal, and Diego Carlos could be on his way out of the club if reports of a move to Fulham come to fruition. Tyrone Mings, who missed all of last season with an ACL injury, is yet to return, leaving Pau Torres and Ezri Konsa as the main options along with Kourtney Hause, who has failed to make a single appearance in each of the last two seasons due to injury problems.
Whether Emery chooses to dip into the market to bolster his options in this area of the pitch remains to be seen.
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